03 November 2011

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - The Beast that went Berzerk

You know, sometimes I worry that my readers may feel they arent getting their money's worth out of a short write up. If anyone feels that way, may I remind you these posts are a free public service. More importantly, what can you really expect from a sub-six minute segment involving Superboy and a monster on the loose for the 10th time? The only differentiator to measure greatness is they type of monster involved and a mastodon is a tricky one... to judge I mean, its not really a dinosaur even though its prehistoric. Its big, but it ain't a giant monkey. Really, the most interesting thing here is that before the elephant got giant (and changed species) it was so cute and little. I guess that makes it a tad more exotic of a monster than a giant alligator.

So, of course Superboy knocked the "beast" out within the first two minutes (literally) and the scientist had a cure on hand and all was well... until the writers realized they had to pad this puppy (just like I am padding this here post). So, one of the scientists went crazy and dosed the elephant again but this time, all the antidote was gone and it all of a sudden would take years to replicate. This plot point sent Superboy and Krypto to an African mine. The episodes still wasn't long enough, so the mastodon got loose one last time.

One other note, while Superman would exile monsters in space, Superboy was partial to locking them in caves which does seem to be a tad less effective.

Best Part: You gotta love the forward thinking 90's style "extreme" spelling of berzerk that this title used way back in the 60s. Also classic is the "exotic" remix of the score when Supes reaches Africa.

Worst Part: Why were the scientists doing experiments in their garage in a residential neighborhood? Was this research approved by a reputable IRB?